Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands says the extra attention teammate Hayden Ballantyne receives from the opposition only fires the livewire forward to greater heights.

Ballantyne drew the ire of Carlton fans in Saturday night’s win at Etihad Stadium after an incident with two Blues that resulted in his jumper being torn off.

The small forward received a free kick, but missed the ensuing shot at goal, however, just seconds later, he caught Andrew Walker holding-the-ball.  

Ballantyne then whispered a few words of advice into the Carlton half-back’s ear, before duly slotting the goal.

Sandilands, who has spent considerable time in the forward line alongside Ballantyne since returning to the side, said the pocket rocket only received extra attention because of his quality.

“He’s a player that can win a game off his own boot, and I think that’s why he does get so much attention,” he said.

But Sandilands said that only made Ballantyne better.

“He thrives on that sort of attention, it brings the best out of him,” he said.

Sandilands admitted that Ballantyne was very good at getting under the skin of his opposition, but the champion ruckman said it wasn’t tactical or pre-planned.

“It’s just the fact that when he plays his best footy, he plays that way,” he said.

“We love having him in our side, and when he plays like that, he’s awesome.”